The month of January gets a bad rap

It comes right after Christmas, Hanukkah and the New Year holidays. Some folks have spent more than they should on gifts and celebrating. A few Montanans spent the start of the month hungover.

Temperatures over the weekend dipped below zero in Great Falls. Ice and snow have stayed for weeks without a chinook.

I know about ice. I biffed it on ice in my driveway in March 2014, and it took me nearly two years to recover. Others break limbs or even die from treacherous ice.

The best movies get shown at the end of each year for Oscar notice; by the end of January, it’s back to the dregs of filmdom. We dodged that gloom slightly with the seventh episode of Star Wars hanging in there, and a few Oscar-worthy films. Too bad “Spotlight,” a movie about intrepid newspaper reporters revealing secrets, hasn’t been shown by Carmike Cinemas in Great Falls yet.

Bitter cold, fewer splashy events, less sunshine and darkness before 5 p.m. all add up. January can be a real clunker. Shoveling sidewalks and driveways takes time, especially if you’re located on a corner lot.

But there’s hope. There are a few good concerts in January, and a big indoor rodeo at Montana ExpoPark next weekend, Jan. 15 to 17. Check the Tribune’s Hot Ticket Fridays for the latest goings-on.

My daughters and granddaughter, age 3, skated on Gibson Park Pond late last week, thanks to the city Park and Recreation Department and that continuing cold weather mentioned above. Skiing was good at Showdown after recent snowfalls.

Insects such as ants, mosquitoes and yellowjackets are hard to find this time of year. They don’t seem to care for below-zero weather, either.

Pesky squirrels in the Electric City aren’t completely put off by frigid temperatures, although they hunker down when it’s really cold. At least one of the creatures doesn’t mind ripping into trash bags on our deck if we leave the bags sitting there. So it’s brave the icy alley or watch Rocky the Squirrel make a big mess. That’s just another reason why we miss our faithful dog, Albert Einstein, an English cocker spaniel who died in November at age 10. Albert couldn’t stand squirrels and kept them at a distance.

It’s funny how much people begin to dread an impending winter, only to realize when we’re in it that it’s really not that bad. It seems our bodies get accustomed to cold, even if our minds lag behind.

Of course, it’s easier being a city dweller in winter, as main roads are plowed and houses stay heated.

Ranchers must check on their cattle, and it’s not the brief 10 seconds it takes to grab the newspaper off the front steps in the morning, and the 30 seconds it takes to walk to the car and get it started.

Country folks feel the full brunt of weather, from ranchers doing their work to people traveling on gravel roads that county road departments try to plow despite limited budgets. School bus drivers have their work cut out for them, too. So does anyone who has to work outside in this frozen landscape. The guys who work on my basement hot-water heating system appear to be rushing from one crisis to another. A broken heating system in these temperatures can spell disaster if not remedied quickly.

It could be worse. We could have the unchanging winters of Minnesota and Wisconsin, where winter arrives and stays there. Those pro football players, the Vikings and Seahawks, in Minnesota yesterday might have earned their pay in temperatures around zero.

At least we Montanans know what we’re in for. My daughter, Johanna, lives in New Orleans, but she dropped in for a visit late last week and had a few choice words for the outside air temperature.

Well, we get used to the cold around here, and we haven’t suffered the 30-below-zero cold we used to see. That might still happen this season, but I hope not. Having your tears nearly freeze in your eyes is no fun while shoveling snow.

The moral of the story is this: Hardy souls who decide to stick around Montana just get used to the cold. And we know it won’t be so long before warmth and the buds of spring make winter chills just a memory.

Richard Ecke writes a weekly column on city life. Reach him at recke@greatfallstribune.com, 406-791-1465, or follow him @GFTrib_REcke on Twitter.